Car-unloading apparatus



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

'1. LONG. GAR UNLOADI NG APPARATUS.

No. 560,727. Patented May 26, 1896.

.Flg". 2.

A 1 1 12 5% Q/Ql :21

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3, T. LONG.

GAR UNLOADING APPARATUS.

No. 560,727. Patented May 26, 1896.

UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

TIMOTHY LONG, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

CAR-UNL OADING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 560,727, dated May 26,1896.

Application filed December 28, 1895. Serial No. 573,644. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, TIMOTHY LONG, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar-Unloading Apparatus,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in car-unloading apparatus and itconsists,first, in the car-holding cradle and the application ofhydraulic power for raising and turning the cradle for unloading thecar; second, in the clamps for holding the car in the cradle while beingturned over. These improvements are constructed and adapted to oper atesubstantially as hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 is an end elevation of the apparatus. 'Fig. 2 is a front sideelevation with the front portion of the trestle-tower removed to showthe construction of the endrings of the cradle. i Fig. 3 is a sectionalview of one corner of the trestle-tower and one of the end rings of thecradle. Fig. 4 is a plan view with the upper portion of thetrestle-tower removed, as on the line 4 4 011 Fig. Fig. 5 is across-section of the chute.

The first subject of this applicationthe car-holding cradle and thehydraulic power as applied for raising and turning the same with aloaded car-is described as follows:

A represents a trestle-tower composed of angle and T iron beams of alike character to those contained in my Patents Nos. 527,117 and527,118, dated October 9, 1894:.

B B are the two end rings of the car-holding cradle joined bylongitudinal floor and side beams O O.

I) is a front side wall supported bythe front side beams. It extendsconsiderably above the beams and rings and is slanted off at the endsand forms a part of the dischargespout S. I The lower side of said frontwall is bent inward and joins the floor D, upon which is arranged thetrack-rails for the car.

D is the opposite side wall, which extends up a little above the upperside beam. The walls and floor-beams are braced and strengthened bytransverse beams O 0. On the rings 5 o B B are provided peripheralflanges E E E, and

between said flanges are provided sheaves e e.

B B are wide outside flange-plates attached to the outsides of therings, which form guideflanges like those on car-wheels, and areprovided for guides in the movements of the rings in their upward anddownward travel against the trestle-posts.

The means for raising and turning the cradle is described as follows: FF are cables having one of their ends secured by strong eyebolts ff tothe top front corners of the tower just inside of the corner-posts. Thecables pass down under the end rings, under the sheaves c e, and thenceupward to and over large sheaves G G on the top rear corners of thetower. Thence the cables pass down and through sheaves on the ends ofthe pistonrods R R of the hydraulic-powercylinders P P. Thence thecables pass up again and have their ends secured by eyebolts g g to thetop of the tower. By the use of the sheaves e e in the end rings thecradle moves upward without turning, this being provided for raising thecar to any required height before turning.

WVhen it is desired to turn the cradle for dumping the car, means asfollows are provided:

On one corner of the tower is attached a raised platform M, upon whichan operator may stand and upon the floor of which is pro vided a sheaveK, having a brake-lever it, to be managed by the operator.

H is a rope attached to the top sideof the ring 13 and passes down toand under a sheave I in the bottom of the corner-post of the tower.Thence the rope passes up and over the sheave K on the platform. Thenceit passes down and has a weight it, attached to the end, which isprovided for keeping the rope taut. (See Fig. 3.) Now when the operatorwishes to turn the cradle and car over, when it has arrived at thedesired height, he presses upon the brake-lever 7t and holds the sheavefrom turning and the rope tight. This then holds the cradle as thehoisting goes on and makes it turn over and bring the spout onto theapron. WVhen the cradle is again lowered, it

is done by slacking away on the cables F F. This returns the cradle andcar to their original position at the bottom of the tower, and forinsuring the exact position, so that the track-rails accurately meet,blocks 01 d are fixed on the dock, so that blocks or projections a a onthe rings B B serve as stops for adjusting the cradle to position.

The second subject of this applicationthe means for clamping the car inthe cradleis described as follows:

J J are cross-bars over the car, which are suspended by ropes L L,attached to their middle, and which pass up to and over sheaves Z l atthe top of the tower and are provided with counterbalance-weightsj j.The ropes are of just sufficient length that when the car is down theweights will catch against plates on the cross-beams of the tower andpull up the cross-bars J J away from the car. The means for holdingthese cross-bars forcibly down onto the car is as follows:

N N are cables attached to the under side at the ends of the cross-barsJ J, and on the front side of the cradle, as seen in Fig. 2, the cablespass down to sheaves n 12, attached to the outside of the wall D and inthe angle under the lower side beam 0. Thence the cables pass to othersheaves n at near to the end rings B B. Thence they pass up to and oversheaves n n at the top front corners of the tower, thence back to andover sheaves n n at the back top corners of the tower. To the ends ofthe said cables are attached heavy weights W W. The object of soarranging these cables at the ends of the cradle is to keep the wayclear in front for the turning over of the spout S in the operations ofunloading cars. The cables N N at the rear side of the cradle pass downto sheaves n n (seen at the left of the car in Fig. 1) like those at thefront. Thence these cables pass directly up to sheaves n n at the top ofthe tower, thence back and over sheaves n W, and are provided withweights WV W, the same as the front cables.

The third subject of this application is the vertical adjusting of theapron and chute, described as follows:

A vertically-adj ustable longitudinal beam 0, (seen best in Fig. 4,)reaching across the front of the trestle-frame and guided between theflanges of the front posts A A, is provided, to which an apron Q ishinged and supported. To the ends of the said beam are attached sheavest 2f.

U U are cables having one end secured by eyebolts to the top of thetower and which pass down and under the sheaves t i, thence up and oversheaves i i at the top of the tower, thence back and over sheaves t atthe back of the tower, and thence down to drums X X on the shaft Y, towhich power is to be applied for raising the apron and chute.

To the end of the apron, which is slanted off to the middle, is attacheda telescopic chute Z, adapted to be extended and lowered into thehatchways of boats, as represented in Fig. 1. The chute is provided withperforated lugs z 2 at the under corners, in which a rod or bolts may beinserted for making a joint, on which the chute is turned for turningthe enddown. The upper corners of the chute also have perforated lugs z2, which may be coupled with like perforated lugs on the apron. Now byremoving the rod or bolts from the under lugs and placing them in theupper lugs the chute maybe turned upright. To the apron is attached asheave V, to which a rope V is attached and passed back and forth fromsaid sheave to'a sheave on the top of the tower, thence back and over asheave at the rear side of the tower, and thence down to a drum X, as ameans for adjusting the position of the chute. To the lower end of thechute Z is also attached a sheave Z,to which is attached a rope Z whichpasses from thence to a sheave on the top corner of the tower, thenceback to a sheave at the rear side of the tower, and thence down to adrum X on the shaft Y, by which means the sliding end of the chute maybe extended and adjusted. The upper side of the sliding extension of thechute is split, and near the upper end of the slit are attached twolugs, through which is inserted a hand-screw, which forms a clamp bywhich the extension. is clamped onto the other part for retaining it inposition when adjusted.

The combined weight of the weights WV WV V WV is such that they morethan counterbalance the weight of the car and its lead, so that theyserve to hold the car onto the trackrails when the cradle is turnedover, and they also assist in the lifting of the cradle and car in theirupward movements.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a car-unloadingapparatus, the combination with the car-holding cradle having verticalmovements, of the annular flanges E E E, sheaves e c, journaled betweensaid flanges and attached to the end rings of said cradle; the cables FF, secured at the top of the tower and passing down under the sheaves ee, thence up again and over sheaves G G at the top of the tower, thencedown again and connected with suitable power adapted for elevating thecradle and car substantially as described.

2. In a car-unloading apparatus, the combination with the car-holdingcradle having vertical movements, and having the annular flanges E E E,and the sheaves c e, and means substantially as described for elevatingthe cradle and car of the rope II attached to the top of ring B andpassed down under asheavc I at the foot of the towerpost, thence up toand over the sheave K on the platform M, and having weight h on the end,sheave K provided with brake-lever 7t, and adapted for holding thecradle and causing it to turn over in its upward movement, for dumpingthe contents of the car, substantially as described.

3. The combination with the car-holding cradle, of the clamping-beams JJ, suspended by ropes L L from the top of the trestle-tower, the ropespassing over sheaves Z Z and having stop-Weights jj; ropes N N attachedto the ends of the beams J J, and passing down under the sheaves n n nn, thence up and over sheaves 72 72?, at the top of the trestle-tower,thence back and over sheaves "Mat and having heavy WeightsVV W W Vattached to their ends, and adapted for holding the car onto its tracksWhen the cradle is turned over, and by their combined Weight assist inthe elevating of the cradle and car, substantially as described and forthe purpose specified.

4. The combination with the cross-beam O and apron Q supported thereon,and adapted to move vertically in the guide-flanges of the

